PLUNDERING PALESTINE - Jerusalem Quarterly

ministry appeared willing to accept the proposal, but then broke its promise, claiming
that due to the presence of antiquities and insufficient time to excavate them, the Wall
would have to remain east of Quffin’s cultivated fields.
There are over 100 major archaeological sites in the area between Zabuba and
Shweika, says the Palestinian Antiquities Department. The sites in this area date from
the Bronze Age to the Ottoman period, and include ancient dwellings and population
centres, as well as individual items including caves, tombs, rural castles and
agricultural equipment such as grape presses and farm roads.
Saffa
Located 17 km west of Ramallah, the village of Saffa has lost some 5,000 dunams
of land due to the path of the Wall. This area includes at least six identified
archaeological sites that will be either destroyed or separated from the village as a
result of the Wall. These sites are located to the west of the village and will surely be
annexed to Israel as soon as the wall is completed. These sites are:
Khirbet al-Amma: a Byzantine settlement with a defensive wall, stone cut burial
grounds, wine and olive presses, and mosaic pavements. The construction of the
Wall has destroyed the eastern and southern parts of the site.
Khirbet Krikur: a Hellenistic Roman site inhabited up until the early Ottoman
period. It is located west of the village and measures around 3,000 sq. meters in
area. The site includes several major archaeological features such as walls, wells,
and olive and wine presses. The site was hastily excavated early in 2005 to prepare
for the wall, which will be constructed right over it.
Khirbet Kresna: a site with Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic remains located
to the west of the village and measuring 1,500 sq. meters in area. The site has a
defensive wall made of massive stones measuring 3.5m in height. The site also
includes a number of caves, wine presses and water wells. Due to the course of the
wall, the site will be confiscated and likely used to enlarge the neighbouring Israeli
settlement of Labid.
Khirbet al-Dalia: a site with Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic remains, located
to the west of the village and measuring 7,000 sq. meters in area.
Khirbet Horia: a site with Roman, Byzantine, Islamic and early Ottoman remains,
located to the west of the village and measuring 7,000 sq. meters in area. The site
includes coloured mosaic pavements of churches and remains of a mosque. The
Israeli Department of Antiquities of the Israeli Civil Administration conducted a
large excavation at the site earlier in 2005 in preparation for the Wall.
[ 46 ] FEATURES VieLooting and ‘Salvaging’